Datuk S. Nantha Balan is a retired Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia with over three decades of legal experience spanning private legal practice and the Malaysian Judiciary. He was called to the Malaysian Bar in 1988. He was appointed as a Judicial Commissioner of the High Court of Malaya in 2013, confirmed as a High Court Judge in 2016 and elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2019. He retired from the Malaysian Judiciary in October 2025.

Prior to his appointment to the Bench, Datuk S. Nantha Balan was in active litigation practice for 25 years and was a Partner in the Dispute Resolution Practice Group in two major law firms in Kuala Lumpur and appeared regularly in trials and appeals.  His portfolio spanned a wide spectrum of practice areas, including contract, tort (defamation, professional negligence), performance bonds and guarantees, injunctions, contempt proceedings, insurance, industrial relations/employment disputes (Industrial Court and judicial review), land disputes (fraudulent land transfers/caveat removal), contested probate, partnership, banking (cheque forgery), commercial/corporate disputes(shareholder disputes/minority action, directors duties, receivers and managers), proceedings under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, administrative law (judicial review – planning permission) and Rating Appeals (Local Government Act 1976).

Whilst on the Bench, he authored numerous reported judgments, and his judicial contributions include significant decisions on inter alia, constitutional law, administrative law (judicial review, disciplinary proceedings), criminal law, civil procedure (injunctions, contempt proceedings), trust and equity, land law, land acquisition, landlord and tenant, contract, tort (trespass, defamation, medical negligence/solicitors’ negligence), company law, banking, industrial relations/employment law, arbitration, adjudication, general and motor insurance and the Legal Profession Act 1976.

In a constitutional dispute concerning citizenship rights for children born abroad to Malaysian mothers married to foreign nationals, Datuk S. Nantha Balan delivered a notable dissent articulating an equality-based interpretation of the Malaysian Constitution. This area of law has since evolved through legislative amendment to grant equal citizenship rights to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers married to foreign nationals.

Datuk S. Nantha Balan is a strong advocate of alternative dispute resolution beyond adversarial litigation and was actively involved in court-led mediation, including in high-profile, high-value and complex/acrimonious disputes.

He is a regular speaker at legal seminars and is an active trainer in the Malaysian Bar’s Advocacy Training Course. He is also the Co-General Editor of Malaysian Civil Procedure (2024) published by Thomson Reuters.

Drawing on his litigation experience and as a trial and appellate Judge, Datuk S. Nantha Balan works closely with clients and solicitors in navigating complex disputes. His approach is to identify practical options and solutions, advise on pre-emptive and pro-active steps where appropriate, and manage litigation in a way that is aligned with clients’ long term commercial and strategic interests.